Co-accused in Maple Batalia murder case granted bail

JENNIFER SALTMAN
VANCOUVER DESI

Sarbjit and Roseleen Batalia, Maple’s mother and sister, outside New Westminster Supreme Court on Friday after a man accused in her murder case was granted bail. (Jennifer Saltman/The Province)

Maple Batalia’s sister said it was “disgusting” that a young man accused of being an accessory to Batalia’s 2011 murder was granted bail Friday.

Batalia’s family was in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster when a judge decided that Gursimar Singh Bedi, 23, should not be held in custody while he awaits trial.

Bedi is charged with manslaughter with a firearm and being an accessory after the fact. Co-accused Gurjinder (Gary) Dhaliwal, 21, Batalia’s ex-boyfriend, is charged with first-degree murder.

The evidence presented at the bail hearing and the judge’s reasons for his decision are subject to a publication ban. Bedi will not be released from custody right away, pending submissions from counsel on conditions.

Batalia, a 19-year-old aspiring model and actress, was shot Sept. 28, 2011 in a parkade as she left Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus, where she was studying health sciences. She was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds but died.

Although they were upset that Bedi received bail, Batalia’s parents and sister remain hopeful as the case makes its way through the court system.

“We definitely feel that justice needs to be served, and we’re just hoping for the best in that scenario,” Roseleen said.

Bedi and Dhaliwal are scheduled to appear next in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey on Jan. 25.